Design & accessibility
Why this website is designed this way
Evidence should not be made harder to use by the page carrying it. Thinking About Policing uses clear sections, visible hierarchy and optional reading controls to reduce unnecessary effort. These choices can help readers with differences in attention, processing, memory or visual comfort, but there is no single “neurodivergent design”.
The default site must be accessible without changing a setting. Focus view is an extra choice, not an accessibility fix.
Your choice is stored on this device. It does not require an account.01
The accessible page comes first
The site is working towards WCAG 2.2 AA. It has not yet completed a documented independent audit, so it does not claim full conformance. GOV.UK currently tells public-sector bodies that meeting WCAG 2.2 AA is part of meeting the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Thinking About Policing is an independent publication and adopts that benchmark voluntarily; it does not claim that those regulations apply to it.
The commitments below define what the site will test and maintain. They are not a claim that every page currently conforms before that audit is complete.
02
Focus view changes presentation, not content
Calling this a “neurodivergent mode” would imply that one setting suits every autistic person, every person with ADHD or dyslexia, and nobody else. It does not. Focus view is a practical personalisation option for anyone who wants less competition on the page.
Reading settings also offer text size, spacing, reading width, colour theme and motion controls. Each preference is stored on the reader’s device without an account.
| Part of the page | Magazine view | Focus view |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Lead stories and supporting grids | A narrower, single-column route |
| Imagery | Large and small editorial images | Supporting images are reduced; meaningful images remain |
| Movement | Subtle transitions where useful | Non-essential animation and scrolling stop |
| Content | Every word, source and control | The same words, sources and controls |
03
Why it still looks like a magazine
A calm website does not have to be a flat list. Visual hierarchy helps readers judge what is new, substantial or closely related before committing to a long article. The design therefore uses large images for lead work, smaller cards for breadth and alternating tonal sections as clear stopping points.
Each Thinking About Policing article appears once on the homepage. “Most read” is a compact title-and-topic list, so it does not repeat the same image elsewhere. The In the news section is clearly marked as external reporting. Write for us appears after the first subject section and again midway through the page because potential contributors should not have to hunt through the footer.
The section colours, card balance and amount of imagery are design choices being tested. They are not presented as proven benefits for every neurodivergent reader.
04
Neurodivergence in policing: what the evidence supports
Neurodivergent people work throughout policing. A voluntary 2019 workforce survey circulated across all 43 Home Office police forces in England and Wales received 34,529 responses. Of the 20,355 respondents who completed an optional identity section, 1,863 reported a self- or professionally diagnosed neurodivergent condition. Participation, disclosure and force response rates varied, so that figure is evidence of presence and need, not a prevalence estimate.
A separate 2023 peer-reviewed survey recruited 117 UK police employees through police forces and the National Police Autism Association. Within that self-selected sample, 49 identified as autistic but not as having ADHD, 34 identified as having ADHD but not as autistic, 17 identified as both, and 17 as neither; the study definitions included self-identification without a clinical diagnosis. The autistic and ADHD groups reported strengths and barriers, including adjustment requests that were often not met. The sample cannot estimate the percentage of the police workforce that is neurodivergent.
This site will not repeat the unsupported claim that 40% of police are neurodivergent. The case for clear, flexible design does not depend on one headline number: readers differ, and avoidable cognitive effort excludes people.
NPCC workforce survey report 2023 police workforce study Thinking About Policing analysis College of Policing adjustments toolkit
05
The sources shaping the policy
WCAG sets the technical baseline. UK government guidance adds practical advice about cognitive load, plain language, consistent layouts and testing with disabled people. These sources guide decisions; they do not replace user research.
06
How the promise will be tested
Automated checks can find code defects; they cannot tell us how tiring a page is to read. The review programme will combine automated checks with keyboard-only, screen-reader, zoom, reflow and reduced-motion testing. It will also ask neurodivergent readers from policing, research and practice what helps, what distracts and what gets in the way.
Success will be judged through task completion, comprehension and reported effort, not page traffic alone. The next policy review is due in March 2027 and material changes will be recorded here.
Tell me what gets in your wayPolicy adopted 8 September 2026 · Next review March 2027